Printing mechanism for meters.



C. l- HALL- PRINTING MECHANISM FOR METERS. APPLICATION HLED NOV.22. 1912.

1,223,384. Iutviltml Apr. 21, 191?.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I- C, l. HALL.

PRINTING MECHANISM FOR MfiTERS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 22, I912.

l,223,384. Patented Apr. 2+, 1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

EL; v w llnwmwlwlwllmmy 1 I l I -Z 2215/2602 3 Paten'fed Apr. 24, 1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

iven/fio r' 0/7/66 terzzffi a 4 MSW I fit; fia'rngy'o I I C. I. HALL.

PRINTING MECHANISM FOR METERS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 22,19IZ.

i nceomplishthe-successive printing of meter eadin s and to afford an'i'ndication of the I V t fifi'inpgbvfed contact mechanism for. contib i' g the 0 pi'ovides, roved' paper feeding devices dribboii ceding-mechanism;

-, e several drawings 'illustratmg my m- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

cnns'rnn I. HALL, or cmoaoo, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TC CHICAGO ELECTRIC Mn'ran COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOISLAYCQRPQBA IION OF ILLINOIS.

5 0 Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement, in Printing Mecha- 'msms for Meters, of which the following is'a full; clear, concise, and exact descrip- =t Ion, 1-eference be1'ng hadto the accompany- 1' "ingjdrawings, formlng apart of this speci- QMy invention relates to an improyed printing mechanism for meters, by which tli'e"construction ofthe devices is simple and the number of parts few, in order to time o the printing without the use ofsfie cialfinechapism for printing the time. y invention" is further characterized by the r'atio'n"of the electric. ,circuit's'ener ze" 1 by commutating devices. opsi by jesyjbyflwhich positive operation of these "devioesjli's s'ecured without danger of improper opration, the action 'beinfi pjon the printing wheels and a My invention further nvntibn are as"follows: V I 8 5 F'gurel show's, inelev-ation, my'printing mechanism complete;- I '=Fig.' '2 is a top view 'of-the parts shown sea- I r 3 a sectional view of the parts owir'in Fig. 2, taken along the line 3, 3;

tli'pri'ntin'g Iwheel mechanism, showing the electricg'cqiitacts used to 'control the circuits oijthede'v-ice; .c f

1 is a back View of the housing of operative 1 relation to said tape;

ets and anism controllin- 1ts-operat1on.- SimI ar numerals refer .to similar parts tliroughoiit the several views.

As shbwn in Fig. 1, the printingmech- Speciflcation of Letters llatent.

the printing wheelslt- There may -e meter. My-invention further igfibodies novel printing wheel actuating d'ev directly I gearing I v FigQ '5 aview of a detached portion "-"="qf "th"paper tape and the feed roller in IRINTING MECHANISM FOR ME'J EBS.

Patented Apr. 24, 1917.

Application filed November 22; 1912. Serial n a. 132,854. I

ing. The printing wheels are d' osed over n movable platen 5 operated by t e plunger 6 of a solenoid 7 in such I'nanne'rthat when the solenoid is energized: the platen 5 is moved upward against the lower faces of be as many of the I I inting wheels-as it is desired to have orders of H res represented in'the amount 'printe d, an these are connected together in thl. ,usual manner by I Geneva carry-over wl eels 8.. By its operation'the solenoid 7 ma ks a record on a paper-15m 9 supplied from a roller 10 ivo y mounted at 11. u n the base 1. a e ta e 9 is led over ui 0' pins 12jan'd' around t e feed roller 13 mounted uporiastud,14 carried bythe h The roller'l3, as more rovided with clearly shown in'Fig. 5, is

driving projeuti0ns'.15,- whi enters-corresponding apertures 16 in 'th'epapler tape 9,

and thus a positive drive' ofgt e tape is produced, depending upon the-,' rotation of' the feed roller 13. The feed roller 13 has rigidly securelthereto a ratchet wheel 17 engaged, by'a ring paivl18 minded by the ell crank leveii =19, ivotally upper end of e rightsupported upon the base at20,

- hand end of said bell crank lever isextended and "secured by meansof a-pin 21to the secured to the base at 24. As a result )f.=the-construction described,

'upper'end of the plunger-"6', the on a "mcnt when the solenoidiis operated to move'thoplaten 5 against the tape 9 and thus make a a record from tle type fvvheels 3, the pawl 18 is moved aroui d' to the left upon the ratchet w el, 17 into engagement with the .next tooth thereof, :lnd' when the solenoid 7 is de energized the spring 23 returns the plunger 6 to its normal position and at the same time a rotates the fad roller 13," tlius advancing. r

a 1% The feed roller also has rigidly secured the tape a; spur e of orie reading.

thereto a smal driving pulley. 25, connected 2 secured to the -'rec'e'iving roller 28, as a .b a belt 26 wi :h asomewhat smaller pulley result of which the paper tape9 is wound 1'12 upon the receiving roller as fast as it is -printed. Before passing to the receiving roller the tape is led around a guide pin "29 so as to give a large are of contact on the 5 feed roller, and also to present to view a considerable length of the printed tape, so that at a glance the operation of the meter with which the printing mechanism is colinected may be observed Thesink for making the record upon the paper tape 9 is furnished by an endless ribbon 30', which passes around felt covered rollers 314and 32, the felt being saturated with suitable ink for keeping the ribbon in proper condition for mak- 5 ing a record, and from these rollers the ribbon is guided around the pins 33 and 34 so as to occupy a proper position below the printing surfaccspf-the type wheels 3, at which point it is double and thus produces a better'record than as though it were but single. The roller 32 has rigidly secured thereto a gear 35 meshingwith a pinion 36 rigidly secured to a gear 37. The gear 37 meshes with a, pinion -'38 rigidly secured to the feed roller 13. ,A a. result, the gearing described constitutes reducing train from the feed roller 13 to the ribbon roller 32, which causes the ribbon 30- to be moved slightly for each printing operation. The belt 26 used to-drive the receivin roller 28 is so arranged relatively to the pu lleys upon which it rests that it drives the receiving .roller 28 with suflicient rapidity when the paper tape is first placed upon the core of the roller, and as the diameter of the roller increases, due to the tape being wound thereon, the driving belt 26 will slip somewhat, I but at alltimes'willmaintain the tape taut between the receiving roller and the feed roller.' v I As shown in Fig. 3, the 'operixting'meehanism for the printing wheels consists of two electromagnets 40 cooperating with a hookshape'd armature 41, pivoted at 4?. so as to oscillate around the pivot when the mag nets are; energized. The armature 41 has extending downwardly therefrom a. lever 43,

' to which is pivoted a pawl '44.-Thc left hand; end of the pawl just mentioned en-- gages the ratchet wheel 45, wl'iich is rigidly secured to the units printing wheel 3. I The portion of the pawl 44 -which is to the right of its pivot '46 is conformed on its upper surface so that by engagement with the pin 47 .the pawl 44 is retained in engagement with the ratchet Wheel 45 during its entire ad- Vance. In this manner, when the magnets 40 are energized, overthrow of the ratchet wheel 45 is prevented, since as soon as it, by its inertia and the inertia of theparts with which-it is connected, endeavors to advance ahead of the pawl 44, the flat surface of the ratchet tooth engaging the pawl prevents undue rotation of the ratchet wheel and thus limits its motion to the motion of the pawl position when. the magnets 40 are dcenergizecl. This spring also serves to move the pawl into engagement with the next tooth when the electromagnet'40 is de'ncrgized. A spring holding pawl 49 is-p'rovided: to hold the ratchet wheel 45 in any position to which it may be advanced by the .pawl 44;

As shown in Fig. 4, the shaft; 4, upon I which the printing wheels are'mounted, has ri 'idly secured tovits rear end a diskof'insu ating material 50 for operating the middle one, 51, of the contact sprin 51, 52 and 53, which are mounted in abloe of insulating material 54 and secured to the backplate of the printing wheel'housing by serewsfifi.

.The contact 'spring "51 carrles a-yoke; 56,

which spans the contact spring 52 solthataln insulating roller 57 carned'by'. the endsof the yoke engages the periphery "of,

4 50, whieh is toothed as indicated 6. leading edges of the teethhein sligl1t, y.iu. so as to readily engage and lift the, roller 57 and thus move the contactspring-511mm engagementwith-the contaetjspring m into engagnment w'th the contact sgingfiS. The outer ends of the teeth of the. k sound the spaces'betp'een the teeth zir,e; of cireularfconformation, so that .whenjthe roller ,57 is either between-the :teeth, o. ;-l 1p0n the teeth the spring 51,,isl t i rest"andlthe changjfrom one positionlto theFbthetjsiabrflptlymfldesb as to s te a 8 in position as is v which thegiis 5Q: is--rotat'cd.-' Th and the ratchet whee gularl :thatljh *ro on 5 th c a i.

pon one" o'fthe tee I e and hen will at .once appear-thatflwh'en-it-isnecessary to repair or replace the contact mochamsm, all that is necessary is to take outtthe two screws'55, which permits theremoval of the assembled contact jsprings, which replaced b another similar unitary" strucas made of insulating niiiti ial it wilLbe understood., hat this cam .maybo--made ,of-

metal and the roller. 57 may be made ofin sulatin material, if preferred, the only es-.

sential eincg that the contact spriiig. 51 shallbe insulate so that there 'will be no chance forthe ciosin of improper circuits through 3 I 130 the framewor of the mechanism.

c o e H th' an iso-pn. As a resultpof the construction described, it

' ture. e I have referredt'o ;the can 50 7 50 commutator-will eventually move to a point As shown in Fig. 5, the tape 9 has printed upon 1t opposite each printing position, time indications, so that when the tape is printed each record will hear an indication opposite it of the time at which it was made. This is possible since each printing mechanism is designed to have its recording mechanism operated at re larly recurring intervals which are perfectly definite and can be readily fixed for any particular working condition, as a result of which tape that is prepared and printed with time indications to meet those working conditions can be used, since there.

will be no need for other indications until the time intervals between the printing op erations are changed. Thetape is printed, as indicated, with the time indications in Arabic numerals, as for example, 12:45, 12:50,-12 :55, etc, and the mornin {)rours by any suitable device, as for example, di cated. The ta signed for five minute printing operations. The circuit connections in connection with. the printing mechanism are shown diagram shown in Fig. 5 is deniatically in Fig. 6; The meter with which the-apparatus is to be used 15 shown at 58 and may con. Est of arotating part 59 driv ing by means of a worm 60 and worm wheel,

61, a commutator 62, '{which has restin upon oppositcwiides of its periphery brushes 63 and 64 s gaged by the singlefconducting, segment 65 of the comnifitatori The conducting segmerit 65 is in electrical contact with the conducting hub 66 upon-which a spring 67 rests, said spring being connected by wire 68 with one terminal of the battery 69. Y The brushes 63 and 64" are connected by wires 70 and 71 with the contact springs 53' and ,52. The

op ntpetaspring 51 is connected by wire 72 mt one terminal of the magnetsAO the other terminal of which is connected by wire 7 3 with the other terminal of the battery 69.

i From the abovdesc'ription it will be seen i that as the commutator 62 is.driven,by' the meter 58 in the direction indicated by the arrow, the conducting segment 65 of the connecting the huli '66 and contact-brush 63, thus causing the circuit to be com leted from the battery 69, through wire 68, rush 67,hub 66, conducting segment 65, brush 63', wire 70,\ contact spring 53, contact spring 51, wire 72, ma 'nets 4Q, and

wire 73, back to battery. is current flows through the magnets 40, 40, the ratchet wheel and disk are advanced causing the contact spring 51 to disengage contact spring 53 and engage contact spring 52,1;hus breaking the electric circuit and allowing the armature 41 to return to its. original or home position. As the commutator 62 continues hours, may be distinguished from the a ternoonunderscoring the afternoon hours as inintervals between the .that they fmay be alternately ennected by Wile 76 with the other terminal of battery 69, The contacts 74 and 75 are shown diagrammatically, but in practice are operated bv time-controlled mechanism in dicateddiagrz mmatically by 7 7, so that they will be'closed at regularly recurring interva'ls which m: be-changed to'suit any particular' COIldll'nlOI13.

. The functicns of the contact springs 51, 52, and; 53 are two-fold. Firstly, they serve to prevent a-cing at the meter contacts,-

and secondly, to prevent a continued closed circuit condition should the meter driven commitator stop with the live segment 65 thereof engaging one of its atmg brushes 63 and 64. The circuit osing devices op aratedbythe meter are necessarily qu1te in ;ht and it is desirable to avoid arcing at the l rushes 6 3v and'64 when the ergiz ng drop it for 'elelatro-magnets 40-40 ls open. B roviding the threessprings 51,

52, and 53 an" 1 .the coiiperatingcam50 the' energizing cir :uit. closed through either'of the commutati ir brushes63 and 64 is opened by the electromagnets 40-4@0 throu h the agency, of ca1a 50 as soon as the e ectromagnets hav sbeen energized. Conse- 1Q5 qnently, no a! ring occurs'at thei brushes 63 and 64 and for the same reasonagblosed ci'rcuit condition carinot exist for any cqnsiderable length 01 time -jeyen sboul .the meter commutator s1 oplwithithe con; cting s'eg-z me'nt thereof in engagmentlwit ionc ofthe brushes 62 o 63 One of the advantages secured by the .mechanism 'co istructed j as 3 described above .is'that it may be operated'with great rapidity, and furthermore that the indications are as acc'urat: for such 0 eration as when the devices are operated s owly. a While I hare shown my invention in the particular -emi iodime'nt herein vdescribed, I

do not, howei er, liinit myself to this construction, but desire to claim angcquivalents that. may be l iIlOWILiO those 5 'lled in the art. T

What I claitn is 1. In an apparatus of'the the combinatio n of a supply roller for a pacla s Mead,

per tape adapzed to receive a record, a receiving roller for the paper tape, a feed roller having projections thereon for en.-

gaging apertures in the paper. tape, mechanism operated by the printing mechanism adapted when operated to rotate the feed roller an amount to advance the paper tape adistance of .one record, and frictional driving connections between the feediroller and the receiving roller.

In a device of the class described, the combination of an electromagnetic operating device, a lever actuated by said operating device, a pawl carried by said lever, a feed roller for moving the record tape from a supply roller to a receiving roller, a ratchet wheel carried by said feed roller to be actuatcd by said pawl. and a friction drive actu ated by the feed'roller for winding the paper tape upon the receiving roller.

3. In an apparatus of the class described the combination with a supply 'roller for a paper tape adapted to receive arecord, a receiving roller for the paper tape, a feed roller adapted to cooperate with the tape,- printing means and mechanism operated by the printing means adapted when operated to rotate the feed roller an amount to advance the paper tape a. distance of one rec- 0rd, and frictional drivingconnections between the feed roller and the receiving roller'.

4. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of printing wheels, electromagnetic mechanism arranged when actuated to advance the printing wheels, integrating, mechanism controlling the operation of the electro-magnetic mechanism, and circuit breaking devices controlled b the eleetro-magnetic mechanism to breat the energizing circuit by the operation of the electromagnetic mechanism, said circuit breaking devices comprising'a rotary cam actuated simultaneously with the printmg wheels, three contact springs land.- a

roller carried by one of said springs engagin g said cam, rotation of said cam servin to make and break contact between 'sai springs 5.- In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of'printing wheels, electromagnetic mechanism arranged when actuated to advance the printin wheels, inte- [grating me'chanism' controlling the .operation of the electro-magnetic mechanism, and circuit breaking devices controlled by the electrormagn'etio mechanism to break the energizing circuit by the operation of the electro-ma-gnetic mechanism, 'said circu breaking devices comprising urotary ea actuated by the electro-magnetic mecha nism, said cam havin .alterna jspaces and teeth of circular con ormatioxfrelatively to the center of motion of the cam, three contact springs, and a roller carried by one of said springs in engagement with the surface of the .cam, rotation of the cam serving to make contact-between said first sprHg-and a second one of said springs wh n sand grating mechanism controlling the-operation of. the electro-magnctic mechanism, and circuit breaking devices controlled-by the electro-magnetic mechanism. to break the energizing circuit by the operation of the electro-magnetic mechanism, said circuit breaking devices comprising a rotary cam actuated by the eleetro-magnetic mechanism, said cam having alternate spaces and teeth of circular conformation relatively to the center of motion of the cam, three contact springs, and a roller carried by one of said springs in engagement with the surface of the cam, rotation of the cam serving to make contact between said first spring and a second oneof said springs when said roller is upon a tooth and'to make connection between said. first spring and the third one of said springs when the roller is in a space of the cam.

7. Apparatus of the class described comprising the combination of a device arranged to be actuated each time. 'a certain uantity of energy has been consumed, e ectro-magnetic mechanism for actuating said device, integratingmechani'sm controlling the operation of said eJectro-mag'netic m n i me hanism {for ltein tgi fmds Of d s 'ii n mene ith other 7 6f the lats described comprisingv the combination f'df ,a device ar-- ranged to be actuate, ime a certain quantity-of energy ha be ri'consumed, electro-magnetic'mechanis or actuating said ilevice, integrating" mechanism controlling 8. Apparatus anism, and circuit hreakingldevices controlled bythe ele'etro-magnetic; mechanismto break the ener Zing circuit by the operation of said mec anism, said circuit breaking devices comprising three contact springs, a cam arranged to be advanced when the electrdmagneti'c mechanism is operated, said cam provided with alternate projections and depressions, and a follower for said cam the. operation of said electromagnetic mechfixed upon one of said springs whereby the spring-provided with the cam follower. enages one of its associated sprin when the ollower rides on a cam projectmn and en- 5 gages the other of its associated springs.

when the follower lies in a depression between two cam projections.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 16th day of November, A. D.

I CHESTER I. HALL. Witnesses:

ALBERT C. BELL, MARY A. 010K. 

